Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,900
Posts557,088
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,414
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
15 members (Sunil, LANGSTER, dg84s, ewest, Fishingadventure, Shorthose, Freg, IND1371, Augie, Groundhog7, Brandon Larson, Dave Davidson1, PRCS, Theo Gallus, BillyE), 748 guests, and 313 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#508342 07/01/19 09:44 AM
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 1
P
OP Offline
P
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 1
My name is Mel Duplantis and I live in South Louisiana. A good friend of mine recently acquired about 36 acres of property that has a 2 acre pond on it. The pond has been established for about 10 years it is well stocked with largemouth bass and hybrid bluegills and it is very healthy looking. The pond has 2 Kasco aeration fountains and a max depth of 15’ on one end. I have been asked to manage the pond. She wants the pond to maintain the beauty of the pond and have a place for her grandchildren to fish. The pond is fed by rain with no runoff entering it but she does have a water well next to it. To date the well has not been used to add water to the pond. We are in early summer and the water level is down about a foot. I have never managed a pond before and need all the help I can get.
How can I tell if the well water is safe for the pond? There is no pump on the well so it would be a slow addition of water using just natural output.
Do I need to run the aeration fountains 24/7? The pond is out in the open and gets lots of wind across the surface. I was told one of the fountain pumps is 220v and costs about $200 a month when run 24/7. I have not verified this yet. Would like to minimize the cost but don’t want to harm the fish. I look forward to any replies and guidance.
Thanks for any help.

Pondcajun #508346 07/01/19 10:02 AM
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344
Likes: 101
Offline
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344
Likes: 101
Welcome to PB, you have come to the right place!

I don't have decorative fountains in my pond, but it would seem that fountains do not add a lot of aeration when compared to the bottom diffuser type of aeration. I suspect that you can run the decorative fountains as little as you like so long as the suction is not coming from the bottom of the pond (which would be rare). That could be a whole different animal.

Someone with fountain experience should be along soon to more confidently advise, I'm sure.

Congrats on the cool opportunity!


Fish on!,
Noel
Pondcajun #508356 07/01/19 02:47 PM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110
Likes: 478
Fountains are primarily for aesthetics by visual and sound affects. Fountains actually aerate the water better than bottom aeration because the fountain mixes essentially the same water over and over thus adding 'good' amounts of dissolved oxygen(DO) to the water in the vicinity of the fountain. Fountains are especially good during periods of severe DO loss - conditions prone to summer fish kill - high plankton bloom with green water, several days warm cloudy weather, thick layer of anoxic water zone in a deep pond, large plant or plankton die off.

Bottom aeration does not produce lots of dissolved oxygen into the water from the rising bubbles. However the bottom aeration does move lots of water from the bottom to the top so the water can be degassed and reoxygenated at the surface by various methods. Bottom aeration VERY cheaply moves high volumes of usually poor quality water from the bottom to the surface where the water quality usually improves. Fountains mix primarily only the water as deep as the intake draw tube. Lower depth water is cooler and more dense & heavy thus it resists being lifted or drawn upward. Below this intake depth little mechanical mixing occurs except for wind wave action. Measure the temperature profile every one foot below a fountain to verify the mixing depth for each situation.

Slowly adding even low oxygen well water into a 2 acre pond should not cause fish problems. Note - the cold more dense - heavy well water is likely to sink toward the depths that could already be oxygen poor. A way to test the 'fish health' of well water is fill a 5-10 gallon container with well water let it adjust to ambient temperature and add one or two small pond fish. Observe after 24hrs.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 07/01/19 03:00 PM.

aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
Pondcajun #508359 07/01/19 03:02 PM
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344
Likes: 101
Offline
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,344
Likes: 101
Thanks for the clarification Bill!

I suppose I was trying to convey that fountains do not oxygenate the entire water column if the pump intake is close to the surface, where the bottom diffusers have a better chance.

A pond that has DO throughout the water column, due to aeration, will have a larger carrying capacity and may have a fish population to match. If the bottom diffuser's run time was reduced, it could have a large impact on the health of the fish.

Is it safe to say that shutting fountains down (given that the intakes are shallow) would have much less impact, possibly no impact?


Fish on!,
Noel
Pondcajun #508373 07/01/19 09:13 PM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110
Likes: 478
"Is it safe to say that shutting fountains down (given that the intakes are shallow) would have much less impact, possibly no impact?"
Less impact based on water clarity and amount of eutrophication (nutrient load accumulation). As conditions for low DO increase it becomes much more important to run the fountain.


aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
Pondcajun #508378 07/02/19 04:35 AM
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 1,220
Offline
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 1,220
Interesting Bill!! If a fountain were designed so the pump were suspended, say 6' deep, under the nozzle, is it also safe to say that a pond may be oxygenated to a depth of about 7', leaving the most extreme depths to stratify?


.10 surface acre pond, 10.5 foot deep. SW LA. The epitome of a mutt pond. BG, LMB, GSF, RES, BH, Warmouth, Longear Sunfish, Gambusia,Mud Minnows, Crappie, and now shiners!!...I subscribe!!
Pondcajun #508380 07/02/19 06:11 AM
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
D
Moderator
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Lunker
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
Are you sure all of the bg’s are hybrid? Those guys don’t spawn enough to feed bass.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP

Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by ewest - 03/28/24 03:37 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by Sunil - 03/28/24 03:32 PM
1 year after stocking question
by Dave Davidson1 - 03/28/24 02:44 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by esshup - 03/28/24 08:36 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Reducing fish biomass
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 08:18 AM
Questions and Feedback on SMB
by Donatello - 03/27/24 03:10 PM
2024 North Texas Optimal BG food Group Buy
by Dave Davidson1 - 03/27/24 08:15 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5